Marvel's Wolverine trailer hides an Incredible Hulk Easter egg in plain sight

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Marvel's Wolverine
(Image credit: Insomniac Games)

The Marvel's Wolverine trailer was hiding an Incredible Hulk reference in plain sight, though it's too early to say if it may herald an appearance for the angry green giant.

The brief cinematic trailer debuted at the PlayStation Showcase yesterday, introducing us to Spider-Man developer Insomniac's take on a different part of the Marvel canon (it also revealed Marvel's Spider-Man 2, so Insomniac is really keeping busy out there). Setting the trailer in the Princess Bar is a nod to a recurring Marvel location, but this Easter egg is even more subtle.

When the trailer first cuts to Logan with his back turned to the camera, a Quebec license plate number "HLK 181" is visible just above the bar. This is a clever nod to the 1974 Marvel comics issue in which Wolverine made his proper debut: Incredible Hulk #181 'And Now… The Wolverine!' Naturally, he and the Hulk throw hands for a bit before ultimately teaming up against a common foe. The site of their battle is in the Quebecois wilderness.

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

It's possible that Insomniac is teasing a role for Dr. Banner to play in Wolverine's story with the license plate, but it's at least as likely that the studio is simply paying tribute to Wolverine's comic origins - the bar's register reads "19.74" as another reference to his debut, for example. On the other hand, Insomniac Games has teased that it's building "a new, original universe with Spider-Man and now Wolverine," so you never know when or where other heroes may show up.

Check out Newsarama's roundup of the 10 best Wolverine stories of all time to get ready for his Insomniac debut.

Connor Sheridan
Connor Sheridan
Former GamesRadar+ News Writer

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and was formerly a staff writer at GamesRadar+.